Chiara's Tale: After the Jedi Died
by Twichie
Summary: Years passed. No more strangers came. No one inquired about the baby. People, as they are wont to do, became complacent. As war raged through the galaxy, peace came across Tatooine. The sun shone with just a little less harshness. The wind blew a breath cooler. Things felt more settled and calm. And a planet watched as a baby grew up and a man grew old. A Ben Kenobi Journey.
1. Chapter 1

Young Skywalker came to see me. I had begun to despair that I would ever see it happen, but it did. Just as Ben said it would. I'm glad it's happened. I'm ready for the end of the tale. I'm eager to let go of this burden. Skywalker's visits will free me. This I know. Not because Ben told me. It's because he very carefully didn't.

Young Skywalker told me that the Jedi are returning to the galaxy. Ben told me that when that happens, it will be okay to share the story. To tell what I know. It will be okay then to share his life. To talk of the time when the galaxy lost Obi Wan Kenobi.

* * *

_I see him staring at me intently as I settle my cup on the table in front of me._

_"Would you like more tea?"_

_"No thank you." His answer is polite. Short._

_"You're anxious. I know." I tell him. He looks at me in surprise. "I can sense it."_

_"You know the force?"_

_"Jedi aren't the only ones with knowledge of the Force." My voice shakes only a little as I look at him with a wise stare._

_He chuckles. I've amused him. It squeezes my heart. "Yes ma'am." His look gets somber in a heartbeat as he stares into my eyes and asks, "Will you share it with me?"_

_My heart stammers. I must calm my breathing. "There is much to tell. It won't be finished today."_

_"Then we'll deal with that when it comes."_

_I can't stop the smile that crosses my lips. So young. So innocent. So like him._

* * *

It all began at the cusp of the moment when the Jedi would disappear. In the course of one day, the entire galaxy would lose its bright and shining stars. It's very future shattered in a cloud of hatred. It was an open wound in the soul of the universe. No one came out of it unscathed. Myself included. Some carried the burden more than others. Ben was one of these.

On Tatooine, life was peaceful. Not necessarily pleasant. Just peaceful. No war. No battles. The happenings of the Universe had little to do with the everyday grind on the planet. No matter who ruled Tatooine, life remained as hard and unforgiving as it always had been and always would be. The people in power cared little and gave even less to this small, hot planet. Too late would they discover the impact of our hard ball of dust on the events of the Galaxy.

Until that day, the crushing events of the wars beyond our atmosphere were treated as gossip. News of just the slightest degree. Traders talked. Residents listened. Then they worked. Nothing changed. Until the day the Jedi died. After that, nothing was the same.

"Anakin? Was Anakin Skywalker killed?" The whispers chased around the perimeter of our world, racing across the dusty plains. Everyone wondered what had become of Ani. Superhero of the Galaxy. Savior of the weak. "Do you think he got away?" It became the fodder of dinner tables, drinks at the bar, workshops, farms. Everyone asked the question. The very idea of our Anakin being injured or killed brought Tatooine to life in a way that no one had ever seen. He had, after all, conquered everything. The only human to ever race pods, let alone win! How could he be dead?

The new whispers began as soon as the stranger first appeared. Maybe Anakin had come back here to watch over his child. What father wouldn't in these difficult times? Maybe he would rise up again to save the Galaxy from this Emperor and his partner, Vader. Maybe Anakin would…maybe not. What if the stranger wasn't even Anakin? What if it was someone who wanted to do harm to the child? Neighbors and friends respected the privacy of the Lars family. They wouldn't aid anyone who wanted to invade that privacy. Without a word muttered aloud, the community drew in around the family. Protecting them in silent hope.

Years passed. No harm was done. No more strangers came. No one inquired about the baby. People, as they are wont to do, became complacent. As war raged through the galaxy, peace came across Tatooine. The sun shone with just a little less harshness. The wind blew a breath cooler. Things felt more settled and calm. And a planet watched as a baby grew up and a man grew old.

* * *

_Skywalker coughs politely and looks at me, waiting for more. I can't help poking a bit of fun at his eagerness. "Yes?"_

_He looks startled at the question. He pauses for a moment and closes his eyes, fingers toying with the edge of the now empty tea cup._

_"There's more." His words aren't a question. He knows as well as I do._

_"Yes. There's more. I would imagine that's the part of the story you know." I chuckle again at the smile on his face. His anxious demeanor is all but hidden to the world. Few would notice the effort at calming heartbeat and breath. Few would see more in that smile than patience. I saw it though. He was eager for the rest._

_"What would you like to know?"_

_"I'd like to know…" I saw the questions flow into his mind and wrap around his thoughts. Hundreds of them. Thousands. So many questions. So much passion. So little time. His thoughts finally come to a slow grinding halt and he looks at me with that calm smile. "Let's talk about you. And Ben."_

And so it begins.


	2. Chapter 2

I knew who he was. Some didn't. Rumors persisted around his very presence, but I believed none of them. I knew in my heart that the only man the rumors didn't involve was the man in the caves. He was bigger than the gossips. He was even larger than the legends. He was real.

The caves were only a short speeder ride from my homestead. It wasn't difficult to get there, but coming up with a reason to be out in the middle of nowhere was near impossible. I waited many months to see if the stranger would make an appearance at Mos Espa or even Mos Eisley, but as far as anyone knew, he didn't. At the very least, no one was talking if he did. It was almost as if he had disappeared once he entered the caves. Some worried that he had. Maybe he had gone there to die. The idea wasn't something new to us.

It was then that I decided to go and see Beru. We had shared schooling for a few years and our families had always been fairly close. My father had gone with Cliegg on his journey to bring Shmi home. He hadn't returned. Since then, we had shared grief over our mutual losses. Maybe it was time to begin sharing joy together.

I gathered together a dinner, gifts for the baby, and no small amount of courage before I left. When I arrived, Owen was in the moisture fields checking the vaporators. Beru answered the door with a hesitant smile.

"Chiara!" Her voice sounded surprised but her face betrayed her joy. "It's been so long!"

"I thought you may need some more…" My words trailed off. "time. Is it alright?" I was tentative, not wanting to intrude.

"Yes. Come in. Come in. It seems like years since I've seen you!" She smiled broadly and shook her head. "I'm so glad you came. I want you to meet Luke." She stepped back and held the door open for me. Even though my arms were full of dinner and gifts, she still reached out and granted me a short quick hug. "It's been wonderful to be on our own and get to know him, but I'll admit I've missed you all. Everyone really."

As we entered the house and moved down into the cool living quarters, I smiled at the sound of a baby cooing. Luke, as she had called him, sounded happy. Beru reached back and took part of the heavy load I was carrying.

"He's just the sweetest thing Chiara. He really is." She practically beamed with delight over the child. Even from behind her, I could see a difference in her walk. In her very being.

"Marynne sent some gifts for you. I pulled together some things too. There's a lot here." I paused for a breath. "When people knew that I was coming, everyone wanted to send something." A breath. A question. "People have been worried about you."

A cloud passed over her face as she stopped and turned back to look at me. "I know." No other words came from her as she turned back to the main living area and placed the gifts and dinner on the table. "We all know."

Her words had time to settle into my heart like stones and by the time I looked back up, Luke was there. She was holding him in her arms, a brilliant smile lighting her face.

"He's beautiful!" I exclaimed. And indeed he was. Golden blond hair topped sky blue eyes and an innocent toothless grin. He reached out to touch my hands and I looked at Beru with a question in my eyes.

"Go ahead. He loves being snuggled." She beamed again as she looked at him and I held out my hands. In an instant he had dived into my open arms and was reaching for my hair.

Tiny baby hands entangled in my long brown curls, I held him tight and felt his little heart beating against me. The question hung in the air between Beru and I as much as Luke was between us now. It couldn't go without being asked.

"Is he…?" The words tumbled from my lips before I had a chance to think about them, surprising all three of us. "Does he belong to…?"

"Us. He's ours." A voice from the doorway startled me and I swung to find Owen standing behind us, arms crossed, face full of anger.

"Of course he's yours." I blurted, sorry I had mentioned anything. "I didn't mean to…"

"Yes you did. Everyone's talking about it. You're just here to spy and see what we're up to."

"Owen!" Beru's voice was shocked. "This is Chiara! Chiara!" She repeated my name again and stepped between he and I. "Her father died trying to bring Shmi back! Don't tell me you don't trust her!"

"I don't trust anyone now." His voice was hard as he looked at me. "You shouldn't even have let her in here. No one's safe Beru. No one." He came across the room in two strides and pulled Luke from my arms. "The galaxy is at war."

"I know that." Beru's voice sounded petulant now as she stood next to Owen staring at Luke with wistful eyes. "I know better than anyone." She reached to touch his soft baby cheek with a trembling finger. "Every day I live with it." Luke grabbed her finger with his chubby hand and brought it instantly to his mouth. She smiled as he chewed happily away and the tears shone in her eyes. "But I can't live alone anymore."

Owen looked at her with sadness in his eyes. "I know. It's hard. But…" his voice trailed off and I saw the fear in his eyes. "What if…?"

"Everyone thinks the man in the cave is Anakin." The words flew out of my mouth, silencing everyone in the room. Even Luke stopped gnawing on Beru's finger to stare at me with a puzzled look.

"What?" Now Owen's voice was harsh. "What did you say?"

"I said…" I gulped hard and took a step backwards. Even though he held Luke in his arms, he looked as if that wouldn't stop him from doing something…dangerous. "Everyone thinks the man in the cave is Anakin."

"Anakin's dead." His voice was an angry grating bark. "There's nothing left of Anakin Skywalker anymore."

"Except him." Beru whispered, her voice soft as she reached to take Luke from Owen's arms. "The best of him."

"Beru!" Owen's voice grated harshly again in rebuke, making Luke's lower lip quiver. In seconds the angelic looking boy was crying and holding on to Beru's tunic in fear.

She shot Owen an angry look and took Luke from the room to comfort him, leaving Owen and I alone. He sat down on the chair next to him and rubbed his hand tiredly over his face.

"I'm sorry." His voice was calm. Regretful.

"It's alright." I lifted my hand in a clumsy attempt at comfort. "Everything's going to be fine."

At that his head shot up and he stared at me with wide eyes. "Is it? Will it ever be the same again? Will we ever be just moisture farmers again? Will we ever live without fear? Without daily wondering if someone's going to come and take Luke away?" He rubbed his eyes again. "No. We'll never be fine again."

A few awkward moments passed with Owen on the chair, head in his hands. I didn't know if I should move or not. If I stayed unmoving, maybe he would stay silent. I didn't want to draw any attention to myself. Let him forget that I was there.

"Damned Jedi." The words were a mutter under his breath. "Damn the Jedi. Damn them all!" His voice stayed low enough that he couldn't be heard outside the room, but his voice was full of passion. He stood and crossed the room in three angry strides. "The Jedi have ruined my life! Everything I ever could have been was stolen by the Jedi. Did you know that?" His face was inches from my face and boiled with fury. "I could have been so much more! I could have done so much more! If only the Jedi hadn't…" He stopped quickly at the sound of footsteps outside the room. In the breath of a heartbeat he was back to the center of the room and facing Beru as she entered.

"Luke's asleep. I think you just startled him." Beru's eyes were questioning. "Are you alright?" The words were directed toward Owen, but I felt sure she was talking to me as well.

"We're fine. I apologized." Owen nodded in my direction. "Chiara." It was a short sharp word and then he was gone.

"I'm sorry." Beru came forward. "He's been through so much. Some days I wonder if…" She took my hands. "I'm sorry. You didn't deserve your kindness being returned that way. Forgive him. Forgive both of us please."

I reached out and wrapped my arms around her trembling form. "Beru, we're fine. It takes much more than that to ruin a friendship doesn't it?" She held on to me tightly long after the hug was over and I realized she was fighting tears. "It's okay." I whispered into her ear. "It's going to be okay."

"Let's sit down and have some tea."

Over cups of cool sweet tea, Beru explained the story to me. Or at least what I thought was the story. It wasn't until years later that I realized how many details she had avoided.

The man in the cave, she told me, was a battered old general from the Clone Wars. He had been injured very badly and was emotionally wrecked from the battles he'd been in and only wanted to be away from people.

The baby, Luke, was indeed Anakin's son. Anakin had been betrayed and killed by someone close to him. He never saw the baby before he died. The baby's mother, Padme, had also been betrayed and killed. The same person had killed both parents. She had barely lived through the labor. Her last wishes were for her son to get back to them so they could care for him. She wanted family to raise little Luke. A network of people was able to get Luke here to Owen and Beru.

"Owen wasn't sure it was a good idea. With the way that they are searching out Jedi in the galaxy, it scared him to think of the Empire coming here. What if someone found out that Anakin had a son? It could be very dangerous for everyone." Her eyes filled with tears. "But I couldn't help it. He was so small and innocent and beautiful. I knew we needed to take him." She looked down at the table. "The emdees have told us that we'll never have our own children. I told Owen that it was the Force bringing us a son." She shook her head and wiped her eyes. "He didn't like that. He doesn't believe in the Force. He doesn't like the Jedi. He doesn't even want Luke to know that Anakin was a Jedi."

Owen, Beru shared, had planned an entirely different life. He had wanted to explore the galaxy. Other planets called to him. He looked at the twin suns and felt himself drawn far far away from Tatooine. He had planned, when Cliegg married Shmi, to stick around for only a season or two. Only long enough for the family to save money for droids. Then he was leaving and taking Beru with him. They would never return to Tatooine. He was tired of this dusty old planet.

But then Shmi had been taken. Cliegg injured. Money lost along with life and limb. With her disappearance, his dreams shattered and lay in pieces around his feet. He had only just begun to pick up the bits when Anakin returned. And with Anakin came hope. Hope that Anakin, the great and mighty Jedi might stay. Take care of his family obligations. Do what he was supposed to do as a man. After all, if Anakin had not gone to be a Jedi, he would be in the same place anyway. Helping Owen and Cliegg to run the moisture farm. Living in peace. The very least he could do now was help Owen make things better. When none of that had happened, Owen's anger at the Jedi had begun to harden into a base upon which everything in his life was later built. The Jedi were the reason for every bad thing that had happened to him. And nothing would change that.

_My hand falters on the tea cup as I lift it to my lips. A small sip of the cool brew and then my eyes close again for a brief moment._

"You're tired." His voice is concerned as he reaches across the table and puts his hand over mine. "You've shared much today." He smiles a warm calming smile and my heart flutters just a bit. It's been a long time since anyone's looked at me that way. "I think we should continue this tomorrow."

I manage a very slow nod and then raise my eyes to his face. "Tomorrow I'll tell you about him."

He smiles, sweet and patient. "That would be good." 


	3. Chapter 3

For months on end I grilled Beru about the identity of the man in the cave. I knew in my heart who he was, but I wanted to hear it from her. On the day that she finally broke down and told me, Beru had shaken her head at my fascination with the man. "He's just a beaten down old man now, Chiara. You need to focus on someone more your age." I shook my head and told her that it wasn't what she thought. There was much more to it than simply some schoolgirl crush. No matter what I told her though, Beru saw it through her own experiences. She couldn't fathom that there would be anything other than a romantic interest in the man. If she had known the truth, things might have been different. But she didn't and one day she tired of the whole subject.

"This ridiculous obsession with an old Jedi master has gone too far. You really need to start thinking about settling down with someone more suitable. Kenobi is no good for you." She stamped her foot at me, crossed her arms and refused to answer any more questions. "Forget about him Chi."

That marked the day when everything changed for me. No longer content to just sit and listen to whispered tales, I knew that the time had come to meet the man himself. That was when I started taking long speeder rides into dangerous parts of Tatooine. Mos Eisley, where Kenobi traveled to get his supplies, was a precarious place for anyone, let alone a single young woman. Part of me wished that he would get his supplies closer, at Mos Espa, but I understood his need for privacy. In spite of everything Beru believed, I respected this about him as well. I had no desire to invade his privacy. I only needed answers and then I would leave him alone.

It was in the marketplace at Mos Eisley. My basket was almost full by the time I noticed the nondescript Jedi robes weaving through the crowds of shoppers. I fought the clammering of my heart as I reached across the table to pay the owner of the booth. At that moment that my shopping basket decided to rebel against me. With a loud rip the handle broke free and sent fresh tanja fruit rolling across the dirt like errant children at play. As I dropped to my knees to gather the sweet globes into my arms, all conscious thought left my mind except picking up every last piece of fruit on which I had just spent hard earned money.

It wasn't until one of the rebellious green tanjas rolled up to the worn brown edge of a robe and stopped with a small bounce at the toe of a booted foot that I remembered where I was. With a soft embarrassed gasp, I struggled to hold the rest of the fruit in my arms and noticed the one errant tanja. My eyes closed, my face flushed a deep crimson, I reached for the it with a trembling hand.

All of the words that I had planned for our first meeting went out of my head and all I could say was "I'm so sorry."

Another soft chuckle. "I usually like my tanjas in pie."

"I'm so sorry." I struggled to stand and keep the load of produce in my arms without another spill. A warm hand reached out and grabbed my elbow to steady me and our eyes met for the first time. In the space of a heartbeat, I saw shock on his face. His eyes widened and I saw his mouth come open to ask a question, but by the time I had blinked, his face was a calm serene mask again.

I took the fruit in my hand and juggled the rest of it as I looked down at my overturned basket on the ground. Scattered around the basket were various spices and pantry items. I had, in fact, been planning to make a tanja pie with the sweet produce. I looked up at the vendor with a request in my eyes but he was already ahead of me.

"Do you have a bag for the young lady?" He asked, his voice gentle and calm. The shopkeeper looked angry and said something in a language I didn't understand before gesturing in my general direction. Her long green tentacles were beginning to rise of their own volition and it appeared that the tone to her face was deepening to a color very near black. "I think you have a bag there somewhere." The timber of his voice changed imperceptibly and I saw the alien woman stop short.

"I think I have a bag in here somewhere." She began to rustle through the belongings behind the stand and pulled a bag from the depths of her pile even though she looked slightly confused.

"It's just the right thing to do." The robed man said with the slightest incline of his head and a small wave of his fingers.

"It's the right thing to do after all." The female responded as she handed the bag to him, her face beginning to lighten a bit.

"Your day will be better because of it." I could hear the smile in his voice now.

"My day will be better because of it." She nodded and smiled in return, a glazed look still in her eye.

As he bent over to help me gather everything into the bag, I smiled at him. Again I saw an unsettled look cross over his face. It came as quickly as it had arrived and he smiled back at me, the calm cool demeanor reaching out in my direction.

"Thank you." I said. My voice was low and choked with nervous emotion, but I could feel the knot in my throat begin to dissolve.

"You are very welcome." He placed the last tanja fruit into the bag and handed it to me. "I hope your pie turns out well."

"How do you know I'm making a pie?" My face broke into a smile that caught me by surprise.

"Because after they've rolled across the dirt that way, they'll be so bruised that's the only good thing that can come of them." He had a twinkle in his eye as he pulled his hood further over his head and covered his face. The last thing I saw was the playful smile tugging at the corner of his lips as he raised his hand and turned to leave.

Clutching the bag in my hand, heart racing, I turned the opposite direction and took one step. That was when I heard it. Not quite a whisper but not quite out loud.

"Caden."

Everything froze. There was no noise. No movement around me. Every single thing in my universe had dissolved into that one word.

I spun and my voice reached out to him, firm and determined. "What did you say?"

The Jedi robe stopped moving and for a split second, I saw his head incline and wondered if he was going to continue on his way. Then I watched as he turned with a deliberate pace and pulled his hood back.

"What?"

"I asked what you said." My heart pounded in my throat and I began to pray that I could continue.

"I'm sorry?" The words were a statement more than a question. "I'm sure it must have been the wind you heard." Eyes wide. Innocent.

"I'm not." My lips trembled and though I couldn't explain it, I began to feel the knot of nervous emotion dissolving.

That playful tug began at the corner of his mouth again and he inclined his head once more. He lifted a scarred work worn hand to his beard and began to stroke it thoughtfully.

"We seem to be at an impasse."

"That we do." Now my smile was genuine. "The wind has an interesting sense of humor."

Then he laughed aloud. "So, it seems, do you my young friend." There was a twinkle in his eyes that was new.

"I'll make you a deal." I had grown brave. Braver than even the foolhardiest of my plans. He lifted an eyebrow and his eyes held a question. "If you'll have lunch with me, I'll make you the best tanja pie you've ever had."

"Now that's an interesting offer indeed." He took a step closer and continued to stroke his beard. "Lunch with a beautiful young lady and a tanja pie? How am I to turn that down?"

And that is where we began.


	4. Chapter 4

_Years later, Ben told me that he never would have gone to lunch with me if it weren't for the leading of the Force. When he told me that, I smiled. I figured that meant that the Force and I must have had something in common. It was over that lunch that the changing of my life's path was set. _

When we walked into Mos Eisley Cantina, my heart was racing. Aliens from every planet and every race populated the tiny bar. Many of them were already drunk despite the earliness of the afternoon. When the door opened, allowing the light to pour in, several creatures turned our direction. A few humans were present and when I stepped in behind him, I noticed their leering gaze. It wasn't until that moment that I realized females of any species were a rarity.

I fought to calm my heart and felt Ben's gentle hand on my elbow.

"It's alright."

"Maybe I should go get a wrap…" My voice trailed off as I looked at my flowing feminine dress. "I didn't expect to come here. I didn't dress…" I looked at everyone in their flight suits and outdoor gear. The dress, light green to highlight my eyes, was a simple one. Long enough to be modest but sewn in a manner to highlight my curves, it wasn't a formal dress. I had many others just like it in my closet. Though completely acceptable for everyday attire, once I stepped into the Cantina it took on a life of its own and became something completely different. In the marketplace it had been lost in the crowd of shoppers. Suddenly, where the dress had been modest, it seemed very immodest. Though only my arms and my ankles showed, it was drawing attention that I had never imagined. I patted at my long brown curls and thought again of how I had chosen this style in order to attract attention. This was not the kind of attention I had imagined. "I can go back to my speeder and…"

"No." His voice was firm as he held my elbow in his warm hand. "It's alright." As I watched, it seemed that he grew several inches taller. His shoulders straightened a bit and, still holding my elbow in his warm hand, he placed just the very edge of his fingertips against the center of my back. He looked at the bartender and nodded his head toward an empty booth far in a back corner. With the barest bit of pressure against my back, we moved to the dark quiet booth.

After we had settled into the booth and ordered our drinks and food, he settled back into his seat and looked at me.

"Didn't your mother ever tell you not to talk to strangers? You don't even know my name." He cocked his head to the side and gave me a warm smile.

"Ah. But the wind doesn't have a name." I smiled in return, tossed my long brown curls over one shoulder, and settled back into my seat.

He laughed long and loud then. "Your wit matches your sense of humor." He began to stroke his beard again. Deep in thought, a soft smile played at the corner of his lips. He was about to say something and stopped. The server arrived with the drinks and leaned in to the booth.

With a long neck and limbs, she lowered her head until it almost touched the table between us and began to whisper. "Those…" she swung her blue head and coughed politely, "gentlemen in the corner wish to buy the young lady a drink." She coughed again. "Actually, many drinks."

I felt my face flush deep red as the female swiveled her blue head back and forth between him and myself. "I don't think…"

"The lady's not interested." He turned and waved at the table in question. "But thank them very much." With a smile and a wink in my direction, he said, "We wouldn't want to be rude or impolite after all." I looked down at the table in front of me, my face flushed a deep hot crimson. I swiped a damp curl from my forehead I heard rustling behind the booth and turned to see the entire table full of creatures that had offered the drinks to me. My heart leaped into my chest and I tried to stand and make amends but all of the strength went out of my knees.

"Gentlemen." I heard the smooth honeyed voice float across the booth and looked up to see him smiling at the crew. "Is there something I can help you with?" Not a twitch. Not a tick. Nothing at all to show that he had any concerns about the situation at hand.

"We asked to buy the lady a drink. Not you." A humanoid male of unusually large proportions stepped forward. His flight suit was tight across his belly and I wondered for just a moment if the buttons on the front were going to pop. His arms were extremely long, hanging almost to his knees. He looked at me, his dark eyes without pupils staring at me long and hard. His dark hair was long and straggly and I couldn't help wondering when he had last bathed.

His motley group was standing behind him. Formed of all shapes and sizes, the lot of them could have been a wanted poster for a kid's holocron in need of personal hygiene. With all the colors of the rainbow and, what appeared to be a large number of the civilized worlds represented amongst them, I wondered how we could ever get out of this situation. A quick glance at my lunch date still showed no concern on his behalf.

"You don't need to buy this girl a drink. She's with me." He waved his hand again with that slow voice modulation and a few of the beings in the crew stepped back a pace. They looked at each other confused and he made eye contact with them one at a time. "There's no business here. She's not your type." I watched as there were mumblings and grumblings amongst the group and a few of the beings decided it wasn't worth it. They turned and left, making the odds decidedly better.

The leader wasn't so sure though. He glanced around and in a harsh grating voice said "You idiots! It's a mind trick!"

At that, my companion cocked his head to the side and said, "You have no business here my friend." His voice just a little more firm.

"I think I do." The huge creature said as he reached out to make a wide sweeping punch. By the time his fist reached the spot where my friend's face should have been, he had ducked below the swing and was behind the attacker.

"I told you friend. You have no business here." His voice resonated through the now silent Cantina. "The girl is with me. Does anyone else here have concerns about that?" He looked around at the bar patrons, his smooth glare ice hard.

A general murmuring wound its way through the Cantina as everyone went back to what they had been doing before the argument broke out. My companion's eyes focused on the large humanoid that had started the conflict and cocked his head to the side.

"Are we finished here then?" The honeyed voice was back along with the hint of a smile behind his beard.

The alien stared down at him, assessing the situation and then looked back at me. His black eyes met my frightened stare and the thought ran through my head that I was going to die. He swung around and grabbed my hair, preparing to yank me from the booth and run, but before he could take even a step, there was a hissing noise and a hum in the air for just a second. A bright flash and the alien fell to the floor without letting go of my hair, so pulling me on top of him. He looked confused, not sure why he had fallen. When he looked down and saw his very large foot with a black, charred edge. Several toes were lying on the floor next to him, a matching black char on their ends. He began to scream. Hands and fingers still tangled in my hair, he began to panic and screech in his alien tongue. I was dragged across the floor with him for just a moment before his eyes lit on my own and he wrapped his hands around my throat. I clawed at his hands, wanting to shriek for help but unable to breathe. Another bright flash and the weight that was holding me shifted. I looked down to see a hand still clutching my throat. I pulled away the long fingers and threw it across the room as warm arms wrapped around me and lifted me to my feet.

I trembled and fought to stay upright while my companion pulled me close in to his side. His hands were empty, but I could feel the bump of a lightsaber against my side. With another quick glance around the Cantina, he swung me toward the door and tossed a bit of currency at the server.

"I'm afraid we are going to need to leave without eating our meal. My apologies." His voice was even, steady. I could barely hear anything except his voice and the sound of my own breathing which seemed, at that moment, to be unusually loud. Each breath had a measure of pain to it as well. As if I had swallowed fire.

When we stepped out into the bright sunlight of Tatooine's mid afternoon, I felt his breath whisper against my ear. "We're almost there. Stick with me. Where did you park your speeder?" I bobbed my head in a slow drunken movement and lifted my hand in the general direction where I had parked my speeder. I was fighting to keep conscious now, aware only of the pounding in my head and the ripping pain in my throat. As we came into view of the speeder, I croaked an affirmative at him and pointed my finger just in time to see the bright sunny world of Tatooine go dark around me. The last thing I remember was his arms around me and his voice whispering in my ear that everything would be alright.

_"It still stings, to this day, the way that I handled that situation. I should have known better. Dressed differently. Done…something." My voice trails off and my hand trembles. "But I was young. I was very single minded. Ben never held any of it against me." A chuckle. "He used to tell me that I had helped him to remember not to grow complacent in his talents."_

_With a long silent pause, Young Skywalker and I were both wrapped in our own thoughts._

_"Are you alright?" His voice was young, concerned. Gentle._

_"Yes. I'm fine." I look up at him with a smile and a wink. "I'll make you a deal. Take me to lunch…."_

_"And you'll bake me a tanja pie?" He finished the sentence with a playful grin._

_"Better yet. I'll tell you about Caden."_


	5. Chapter 5

I woke up inside a sand-painted home. This wasn't unusual on Tatooine. Many homes were blasted with colored sand as decoration. The unusual part was that it wasn't my home. It wasn't any place I recognized. Though I was awake, I laid still and tried to figure out where I was. After a few minutes, I heard humming from another room and my heart pounded as it moved closer. A rustle of clothing and a soft step and then there was a smiling face in my view.

"You can't fool me Chiara. I've known you too long."

"Marynne?" My voice sounded weak and tired and I rubbed my aching sore throat. With a slow measured movement, I sat up and looked around the room. "Where am I?"

"You're in my guest bedroom." She smiled as she pulled a chair up next to the bed and reached for my hand. "We've been quite worried about you." She squeezed my hand and laughed a soft melodic sound in the stark barren room. "Although you do have everyone in the community chattering quite a bit! I don't think there's been this much talk since Owen and Beru…." I shushed her with a quick movement of my hand and a glance around the room. Even though we were alone, the things that Beru and I had shared made it difficult for me to listen to the gossip anymore. She stopped, her eyes showing hurt at the rebuke.

"I'm sorry. I just…I'd rather not talk about the Lars' right now." I strained to make the words coherent. For some reason my voice wouldn't work without tremendous effort. I glanced around the room and then back to Marynne. "How did I get here? What happened?"

"We were hoping that you would tell us." Marynne said, her earlier rebuke forgotten, she dove back into the mystery with excitement in her voice. "Kett was out two nights ago checking the evaporators when he saw your speeder cutting through the fields. It was late. Nearly dark." She paused to take a breath and I listened to my heart pounding in my ears. "He was really worried because he could see that it wasn't you driving it. He thought that you had been taken by the Sand People. He even sounded the alarm. Everyone came. It was just like the day that Shmi was…" Her voice trailed off and she swallowed hard. When she looked back up at me, there were tears in her eyes. "We thought you were…" she bit her lip and fought the tears.

I reached out and gave her a quick fierce hug. "I'm alright. It's not like Shmi. I'm here."

"I know." She sobbed as she held tight to me. "I know you're okay. It was just…" She stopped, squeezed me hard, and pulled back. "By the time we got to your house, the lights were on and your speeder was parked there. We thought maybe that Kett had been wrong, but when the men entered your house they found you lying on your pallet in the living area, completely unconscious. When we couldn't get you to rouse, we decided to bring you here." She shrugged. "And you've been here ever since."

"And who was driving my speeder?"

"Nobody saw anyone around your house at all. They searched all over. Kett was worried that it was the Sand People and he wanted to make sure that they weren't going to attack again after we all left. It was another one of the reasons we felt that we should bring you here."

I jumped as a male voice spoke from the doorway. "So she does speak!" I looked up to see the tall tanned figure of Kett smiling down at me. His golden blonde hair had turned almost white after all of his hours in the hot Tatooine suns and he clutched a cool cup of water in his hand. "We've been worried about you."

I nodded and touched my throat. Everything ached, but that seemed to be the worst. In a small voice I croaked, "Thank you. For taking care of me."

"You were pretty bruised up. We even called a healer."

"A healer? That's so expensive!" My voice gave out at that point and I grabbed at my throat.

"Sssh! It's alright." Marynne grabbed my arm and settled me back against the soft cushioned pallet. "You need to rest."

She shot an angry glance at Kett who squared his shoulders with a nod and held the cup out in my direction. "Here. Drink this." He shook his head and smiled. "Don't worry about the healer. We're in debt enough to you."

I shook my head no and took a sip of the cool water. It burned against my raw throat and I swallowed slowly, tears in my eyes. Marynne and Kett were lifelong friends. They had been there for me when my father died. And then later, when my mother decided to leave me the farm and leave the planet with her sister, Marynne and Kett had stepped up and helped me keep the moisture farm going. Without them, there would be no farm. They worked the evaporators along with a few other families and everyone shared in the small amount of money that the farm brought in. It wasn't much, but it was a living.

"You are not in debt to me for anything. Ever." I croaked, one hand gripping my aching throat, the other clutching her hand. "You saved this farm."

Marynne sat on the edge of the bed and lifted her hand to my cheek. "Dear sweet Chiara. Didn't you realize we had nowhere else to go? We had no one who would take us? You're the only person that would hire us." Marynne smiled through rolling tears. "Former slaves. Married to each other. Almost sold to separate people. You freed us." I shook my head fiercely and winced at the pain. "No no. You bought us yes. But then you freed us. You pay us. Despite the fact that we were slaves, you still pay us. We owe you our lives." She smiled. "And you've given us friendship. We've never had a friend."

"We were honored to take care of you." Kett said. "I just wish we knew what happened. What do you remember?"

I shook my head. "Nothing. I don't remember anything."

A few weeks later Kett and Marynne finally allowed me to go back to my own home. Even though the healer had said weeks before that I was fully recovered from the concussion and my bruised throat, they had insisted that I stay with them until they were sure I'd be all right on my own.

It took me a little bit of time to get comfortable living on my own again. Though part of me wanted to forget it, I found that I kept replaying the incident at Mos Eisley in my mind. After it had come back to me, it penetrated every deed. Every task. Almost all of my waking thoughts surrounded what I should have done. What I could have done. With a near morbid curiosity, I played out differing scenarios in my mind and tried to come up with the best method for dealing with the situation.

What moments were not spent writing different endings to that storyline were spent meditating on the main character. Not myself. Him. His actions. His ease with the situation, even in the midst of the chaos. These are the things that fascinated me until I became oddly obsessed with a plan beyond anything I'd imagined previously.

Though I never shared the story of what had happened with Kett and Marynne, I did ask a favor of them. Having grown up in slavery, they both had lived in much more difficult areas than I ever had. Mos Eisley was a jaunt on Alderaan compared to what they had lived in. I wanted them to teach me to fight.

Kett didn't ask any questions. He merely folded his arms over his chest and raised a white -blonde eyebrow in my direction.

"I need this Kett." My voice was strong. Determined. I was ready for a fight from him. But instead he nodded with a serious gaze.

"I'm not arguing." His answer was solemn. "Every female should be able to defend herself." He chuckled. "Well, every male too. In these times it's not wise to be unsure of yourself."

"I'm not unsure of myself. I know exactly who I am."

"Yes." He laughed out loud then. "Yes you do."

_"It only took a few weeks." I lifted my tea to my lips with a steady hand. After a long slow sip I raised my eyes to his. He knew I was waiting for his question._

_"For what?" Young Skywalker's eyes were bright, blue, and curious as he gazed at me._

_"For me to be ready." I smiled at him over my tea cup. "I had a pie to deliver."_

* * *

I planned for days. Prepared for weeks. Finally I was ready to go.

The Jundland Wastes were no place for the fearful. Sand People were the majority of the population. Sand People had no conscience. They killed for money. Anything that they could kill or steal was worth money. Child. Woman. Speeder. They targeted without remorse. Acted without guilt. These were unknown emotions to the Sand People, making them one of the most deadly creatures on Tatooine.

I looked at the speeder packed full of supplies and closed my eyes for a brief moment while I said a prayer to anyone or anything that may be watching over me. Today would be a day that I could use whatever assistance may be available.

It was a fairly short ride to the Wastes. It took not even a full half-day to get there. Getting to the Wastes wasn't the problem. Finding my way through the Wastes to the caves where the man was rumored to live would be decidedly harder. Getting out after accomplishing my mission would be near impossible. The creeping afternoon sun would assure that.

But those were worries to be had later in the day. The concern for now was finding the cave that this mystery man called home. Myriad caves nestled within the vast cliffs bordering the Dune Sea. For as far as the eye could track, there was nothing but tan blowing sand. Each fleck of sand harmless until picked up by the wind and heaved into its own miniature weapon that stung and burned anything it touched. I stopped the speeder and my eyes scanned the cliffs, looking for a likely place to begin. I didn't want to sit for long in the hot daylight. My hope had been to arrive before the late morning meal. From the position of the sun, I would be close.

My eyes lit on a dark opening and I started the speeder's engines. That would be where I would begin. It was low and deep enough within the cliffs that I would be unable to take my speeder in. I would park it at the flat high point at the mouth of the ravine and then take the rest by foot.

With another quick prayer and a deep breath, I parked the speeder and started down into the ravine, picking my way carefully through the loose rocks and boulders. I couldn't even begin to imagine why it was that cave that had caught my attention, but now that it was in my sights, I couldn't draw myself away. That was where I needed to go. I remained so deeply focused on the goal that I had forgotten to keep watch around me.

"I wouldn't have imagined a tanja pie would be worth your life." In a heartbeat my knife was sailing through the air behind me in the direction of the voice. A startled gasp met my gaze when I had finished my spin and focused on him. He was crouched on a boulder and the knife had chipped away a clean spot in the high cliff wall behind him. The chip was just to the left of his head. He stared at the chipped spot on the cliff for just a second before he looked back at me. He ran his fingers through his hair and beard, wiping away chunks of hardened sand and debris. "Good shot." His smile was genuine. "I'm impressed."

I chuckled back at him, wiping my now damp hands on my pants. "So am I." My heart was tattooing a symphony against my ribs and I struggled to bring my breathing back to normal. "It would have been better if I'd planned it that way." He raised an eyebrow, a shadow of mock concern on his face, and then we both laughed.

"It seems a long way to come to bring a pie." He said as he stood and wiped the sand and dirt from his pants. He smiled again, the ease that I had remembered in him rolled across the hot dry air between us and settled over me. In an instant, I was no longer nervous. I watched as he stooped to retrieve my knife and examined it. He turned the blade in his hands and he fingered the smooth white handle. "This is nice craftsmanship."

"Thank you." I replied. "It was a gift from a friend."

"A good friend." He said as he leaped from the high boulder with ease and presented the knife to me handle first. It wasn't a question.

"Yes." The word was simple and alone. I would share no more with him. Not yet.

"Well then. Am I to assume you have a pie…" His eyes started at my feet and worked their way up and down my form in a playful manner. Tight pants and a light belted tunic left little space to hide much more than a knife, let alone a pie. "Somewhere?" His gaze stopped then on mine and we looked at each other for the space of a heartbeat. A smile twitched at the corner of his lips and I fought the laughter bubbling up into my breath.

"It's in my speeder."

"Oh?" He cocked an eyebrow at me and stroked his beard. "I haven't heard that one before."

"You're a tease!"

"Who? Me? I'm not a tease." he put a hand on the middle of his chest and shot me an innocent gaze. His eyes turned serious then. "You've come a long way for a pie my friend." He turned and nodded toward the speeder, a question in his eyes.

"I owed you one." I replied as we started toward the speeder together. He reached out and took my hand to steady me across the shifting rocks and boulders.

"At the risk of your life?" We reached the speeder and he stopped to look at me.

"You saved mine." My gaze was clear. Direct. "It was worth it to thank you."

"But what worth is it if you lose your life in the appreciation?" He looked at me and for just a brief space of a heartbeat, I felt as if he could see my soul. I felt my chest squeeze and I couldn't breathe. He turned back to the speeder and began searching for the pie.

"I didn't."

"You could have."

"I wouldn't."

"You should be more careful."

"You worry too much." At that he stopped and turned back to me. A shadow passed over his eyes and he swallowed before turning back to the speeder. "It appears you brought more than a pie."

"My life was worth far more than a pie."

He turned back toward me, his arms full of parcels. He gazed at me with those piercing blue eyes again and nodded, his voice serious. "Now on that point I would say that we must agree." A beat of silence settled between us. "Shall we go?"


	6. Chapter 6

I stood looking around at the cave that he called home and my heart stopped. It was large. A small family could have lived comfortably in the size of it. Natural nooks and cubbies created small rooms throughout the cave, but none of these except the large main area were being used. A pallet lay in the corner. There was a simple hearth for a fire and a large slab of rock that he used for a table. A few rocky crags stuck out from the corners of the cave were used as seats. To say that it was sparse was an understatement. How could he live in this sort of environment for any length of time? Despite my attempts at politeness, the shock must have shown on my face.

"I must apologize for the state of my quarters. I'm unused to hosting visitors." He set his stack of parcels on the table and took mine from me. "You've prepared a feast!" He laughed aloud and spread out his hands. "I'll never be able to eat all of this!"

"Most of it is easily stored."

"Well that's a good thing then." He went to a small cubby in the wall and pulled out a plate and cup. "I'm afraid I've got little to offer in the way of refreshment and amenities." His face was a light crimson color and he seemed, for just a moment, embarrassed.

"That's alright. I didn't expect to stay actually."

He turned then and held out the cup to me. I took the cup from his hand and looked into those smiling blue eyes again. "Yes. You did." My mouth fell open and I stumbled over a response. His fingers closed over mine. "As well you should have." I trembled beneath his touch. "We've been honest with each other to this point. Let's not start playing games now." Again I felt that squeeze in my chest and couldn't breathe.

I looked down at our fingers and pulled mine from beneath his grip, leaving him with the cup. "I don't have that sort of interest in you." For some reason, I couldn't stop the soft shudder in my voice.

"Of course you don't." He stepped back then and settled himself onto a hard craggy shelf sticking from the wall. One hand on his knee, the other still holding the cup I had left in his grasp. He stared at me and took a slow sip from the cup. Then he reached up with his free hand and stroked his beard as he leaned against the wall. "You need something from me I think." I stammered through a few words of an apology before he held up a hand to stop me. "It's quite alright. I know that your intentions are honest and you've come here with a genuine appreciation." He paused for a moment and I took a deep breath, ready once again to begin an apology. "But you come here with a genuine need as well. And one, I think, that must be addressed."

I stared at him, clear eyed, heart and stomach roiling within me. This was so much more than anything I had expected. And then the word came from his lips and my world turned upside down.

"Caden."

"Yes." My voice refused to work without croaking. "Caden."

He waited with supreme patience until I was able to talk. All the weeks, the months of dreaming had come to this point and now there was no more of that. There was only the reality that was left to hang between us. He stroked his beard. Dropped a soft gentle nod at my tears. And he waited.

I stood and paced the cave, my heart racing and then finally, I turned to him, my voice choked with emotion. "Tell me about him."

He nodded short and sharp and then leaned forward with his hands on his knees. As he eyed me with a careful gaze, he began to tell me everything I'd ever wanted to know.

"Caden was a fine young man. He was very dedicated."

"Dedicated?" The word was barely more than a croak. "To what?"

"Everything. His studies. His friends. I've only met a few in my lifetime that were as trustworthy and honest as Caden was." I nodded, the tightening of my throat making it impossible for me to say more. "I would have fought with him by my side any day." I knew it to be a compliment, but it wasn't the information I had wanted.

"What happened to him? Where is he now? Is he…? Was he…?" The words stopped there. I couldn't finish the thought.

That was when I saw the first flash of emotion from him. He pursed his lips and lowered his gaze to the floor.

"He's dead then?" Though the words came from my lips, I didn't recognize them as my own. They hung in the air between us as if uttered by some foreign entity.

He nodded quickly, his hands tightening into fists for just a moment before he stood and ran his fingers through his hair. His back to me, he stood staring at a small crevice in the wall of a cave that was some semblance of a window. I waited for more, but our thoughts had taken us in different directions.

He found me later at the mouth of the cave. I had been there for nearly an hour, just staring at the sand blowing by. There was nothing really to see. That was okay. I wasn't really looking. My head was full of memories. Pictures that weren't mine. Questions that had, for my life, defined me. The answers teased and haunted me all at once.

I felt him approach behind me. "It's getting late." His voice was soft and warm. They were a caress of calmness in the sea of chaos that was my mind. Everything crystallized at that moment and became clear.

"You're right. I should really be getting back. I've already taken too much of your time." The words were a rush of breath. I shook my head and had turned to leave when I felt his hand rest lightly on my elbow.

"I'm quite hungry actually. I was hoping you might join me." The shadow of a smile was in his gentle eyes and he motioned toward the table. "It's not much on style, but I have heard that this place serves a wonderful tanja pie. Best you've ever eaten." He smiled broadly. "Or so I've heard."

I worked a small chuckle from my tight throat and moved toward the table. He motioned for me to sit and put a warm hand in the center of my back to settle me in the seat. The softness of his touch was a soothing balm to my riotous emotions and I was able to settle into the ease of the moment.

He placed a plate and cup before me and then settled down in a seat on the other side of the table. With a smile, he reached for one of the dishes that I had brought and offered it to me.

"Etiquette would dictate that I should at least know your name before I eat with you." I took the bowl from him and smiled in return.

"Ah. Yes. Of course. Well, you can call me Ben."

I paused, waiting for more from him. When it was not forthcoming I raised an eyebrow. "Alright. You can call me Chiara."

"Chiara." He nodded, trying on the name. "Very well then. It's nice to meet you Chiara."

"And you, Ben."

We sat. We ate. There were no more words. Not at that time. The subject was open. It rested between us and around us. It consumed us. There was nothing more to say. It wasn't until later, after we had eaten, that it was discussed again. That was when I told him.

"Caden was my brother."

My pronouncement hadn't surprised him like I had imagined. In fact, he simply nodded and smiled as if he had already known. His eyes full of concern, he leaned forward, waiting for more.

"We were separated at birth."

That did surprise him. He sat back in his chair with a hard poof of air from his lungs and looked at me, eyes wide.

"You…and Caden…are…were….twins?" His voice was soft as he looked around the room, his eyes seeing nothing.

"Yes. I thought you knew."

"I felt your sensitivity in the Force the first time we met." He paused. "No, I sensed Caden about you the first time we met." He shook his head, his voice still soft and confused. It was the first time I had seen him ruffled in the least. "But I never imagined you were twins." He looked at me again. Now it was his turn to be full of questions. I could feel the turbulence hanging between us.

I took a deep breath and pressed on through the tightness in my throat. "We were separated at birth. My parents knew we were different right away. My father had expected it. He said that when he was born the Jedi had come to his parents and wanted to take him to the Temple for training. His mother wouldn't let him go. His father had died in an accident before he was born and she said that she needed her son with her. She told him about it often as he was growing up because she thought it was something to be proud of. She didn't realize that he resented it. He always felt that he was cheated in life by not going. But he married my mother and he didn't tell her about all of that." I had to stop and take a breath. This was the first time I had shared this story with anyone. My heart was racing in my chest and I looked at him. The tears were beginning to sting my eyes. "Not until Caden and I were born."

"At that time he told my mother that he was Force sensitive. He hadn't ever told her anything about it before. It was, as I'm sure you can imagine, shocking. She didn't want to lose her children to the Jedi, no matter how great the cause was. But my father saw a chance, in my brother, to redeem the life he had lost. He notified the Jedi of the birth of his son, almost forgetting that I even existed. All of his hopes and dreams were pinned on Caden. When the Jedi came, my mother took me away. I stayed with her sister on another planet while the Jedi were there. They took Caden never knowing that he had a twin…"

Ben looked at me, his craggy face unreadable. He stroked his beard and shook his head back and forth in a long slow motion, blue eyes focused on something near the floor that I couldn't see. With barely a shadow of a smile he inhaled, gaze still settled on that invisible point somewhere on the floor between us. Then he lifted his face to look at me. Or, in reality, through me.

"A twin. A Force sensitive twin separated from her brother." The words were barely spoken aloud but they carried easily in the silence of the cave. "Well my friend, it seems that the Force may still have a few things left to show me." His blue eyes met mine and then he broke into a sad smile. "And it seems that you may be the teacher."

"This is quite the unusual relationship, don't you think?" I asked after he had shared with me some of what he knew of my brother.

He looked at me, his blue eyes tired. His forehead wrinkled and he began to tug at his beard. A habit, I was beginning to realize, that he wasn't even aware he possessed. "Excuse me?"

"Aren't we an odd pair? We've only just met officially, yet here we are. Sitting alone in a cave together sharing secrets we've never told anyone else." I sighed and shook my head, embarrassment flooding me almost the instant the words had left my mouth. I tried to stumble through a soft explanation. "At least…well…I never have."

For the first time in hours, he laughed aloud. "I guess if you're going to look at it that way, then yes." His blue eyes captured my gaze for a moment and though his smile remained, his eyes turned serious. He settled back against the wall and brought his foot up to his seat so he could rest his elbow on his knee. "But there's something else at work here. It makes it…comfortable."

I looked at him and felt everything shift under, around and within me. I had come here with one purpose, to seek answers about my brother. The man before me was a means to an end. That was all. Simple. But looking at him now, something had changed. I saw not merely information, but a man. A man different than anyone I'd ever encountered. More different even than anything I could have imagined.

As I looked at him, I realized there was far more than just The Force about him. The weight of the world had in some way rested upon those shoulders. The imprint of this burden was impressed upon him. It had, in a way, created him. Shaped everything about him. And yet he carried this burden with ease. It was no longer separate from him. It was him. But still, he carried it. In the same way that it had shaped and created who he was, it had broken something within him. He was far beyond any label that you could place upon him. Warrior. Master. Man. He surpassed these all. And at the same time he was less than all of them. Broken. Lacking. Aching.

He watched me looking at him and I couldn't stop the thoughts that were beginning to creep around the edges of my consciousness. Bits and hints of ideas that had been firmly locked in some undiscovered dark place began to slip and flit through my mind. I fought them. I didn't want them there. But it was far too late for that. In that moment, I was only just beginning to realize how late. And how far.

He smiled then and for just a fleeting heartbeat of a second I wondered if he could read my mind and then he looked toward the mouth of the cave.

"The suns are low in the sky. It's getting late." He looked at me. "It will be dark soon."

"You're right. I need to get back to my speeder. I can't chance something happening to it." I stood and reached for the wrap that I had left lying on the chair. His hand closed over mine and I looked up at him in surprise. I wasn't aware he had even stood.

"Your speeder will be fine."

"But The Sand People…"

"They won't bother it." A smile played around his lips and for a second his fingers squeezed my hand. He let go and crossed his arms over his chest. "We have…" A beat. "an understanding." There was so much more behind the words that I couldn't help but laugh. "I can assure you that your speeder will be fine." He cocked his head and looked at me, his face once again serious to match his next words. "It wasn't your speeder that concerned me."

_I look down at the teacup in my hand and swirl the cold concoction around slowly. A gentle strong hand reaches out and touches my arm. Warm. Caring. Concerned._

_"You're tired."_

_I can't stop the chuckle. "I'm old. There's a difference."_

_"No you're not."_

_"Yoda I will never be my young friend." He laughs and I can't help but smile. So much like him…_

_"We can continue this tomorrow." He says._

_I nod. The boy is right. It is a good time to stop. Again the tea catches my eye and once more I swirl the cold brew within the cup._

_"I didn't know it at the time, but our story was about to derail." My voice is soft. Nearly a whisper. He lifts an eyebrow at me. "Everything would be sent in a new direction. We were about to leave the familiar and forge a new path." I swallowed hard. "A frightening new path that neither of us was ready for." The cold stale tea swirls, mesmerizing me. "And all because of a bit of broth…"_


	7. Chapter 7

*Author's Note: This one's a bit longer than the other chapters. I couldn't figure a good place to cut it so that it wasn't either very short or long. I thought going longer was better. :)

* * *

My heart raced within me and those tiny hints of thoughts came flitting back around as he stepped to the mouth of the cave with me. I don't know what I had hoped he would say but it wasn't what he did say next.

"Is there someone that will worry about you?" His eyes scanned the setting suns.

"Oh." I looked at his profile studying the horizon before us and I swallowed hard. "No." I wondered why my throat was suddenly feeling tight.

He turned to me then and raised an eyebrow. "No one?"

I met his steady gaze and shook my head. "No."

"Oh." For just a moment he looked puzzled but accepted the answer. I don't know why I had done it, but I had told Kett and Marynne that I would be away on a trip for a few days and not to worry if they didn't see me. I had also asked them to keep an eye on the house if I happened to be gone for more than two days. Kett had been concerned. With the incident at Mos Eisley and my mysterious appearance in the middle of the night being so fresh in everyone's mind, he had every reason to be concerned. Though he wasn't happy with the situation, by the time I was ready to leave he had nodded and assured me that everything would be fine.

"I should probably go." The words rang hollow even to me, though I tried very hard to believe them. "I've already imposed on you enough." I pulled the wrap tighter around myself and shot a quick look around his dwelling. Was there anything else I needed to take when I left? I didn't notice anything. As I scanned the room, I felt him move from my side and settle down into a seat at the table. With a glance in my direction, he pulled out the teacake that I had brought.

"It's not a safe time of day to be out." He looked at the cake and sliced a rather large piece for himself. " Well," he said as he examined the piece in his hand. "This looks promising." He held it up and smiled at me as if it were a drink he was using to toast a friend.

"I've lived on Tatooine my whole life. I know what to expect." The words were angry although I hadn't intended them to be. This was not turning out as well as I had hoped. There simply didn't seem to be any way for me to make a graceful exit. I watched him take a bite and felt a warm flush at the contented smile he gave me. With a deep sigh of resignation, I turned back toward the mouth of the cave. "Now if I delay any longer I won't…"

An odd noise rattled through the cave behind me, cutting off my goodbye. I turned to see Ben, face mottled a brilliant pink, clutching at his throat.

"Hoi-broth?" He choked the words out through a tight wheezing throat and chest. I nodded. It was a new recipe that I had just received from Marynne and I had decided to try it. I had thought that the occasion warranted something special. I dropped my wrap and moved to his side as he fell to his knees. "Allergic." I felt the air rush from my own chest at the revelation and I dropped to my knees next to him. His breath was a high-pitched wheeze that was fast becoming a whistle. I wrapped an arm around his shoulders.

"You need to calm down." The words were the first thing that came to mind as I assessed the situation. He looked at me with a strange sort of smile. It was almost as if he wanted to laugh and I realized that he was very calm in the face of possible strangulation. I fought down the nervous urge to giggle at his expression. "We need eufrashia root!" He looked at me, the surprise evident in his features as he fought to breathe. "My mother was a healer of sorts. She taught me about herbs." He raised an eyebrow in interest and gave a slight nod. I couldn't help but laugh at his attempts to keep conversation civil as his oxygen slowly diminished.

"I have eufrashia at my home. I could take you there." He was sitting on the floor now, legs straight out in front of him, resigned to the idea that he couldn't breathe. His face was beginning to lose a bit of color but he didn't look alarmed at all. He simply gazed at me with big blue eyes and nodded. "You'll need to stay exceptionally calm and still though. It's a bit of a drive." He nodded again. "Can you make it to my speeder?" A whistling breath with just the slightest bit of blue around his lips was his response. But then a nod came just the same.

We made it to the speeder with little time to spare. He wasn't going to last much longer. He looked at me, opened his eyes wide, nodded, and then closed his eyes, leaned back in the seat and didn't move again. My heart clutched within me and I cried his name loudly as I put my hand to his chest. Still breathing. Just barely. I placed my head against his chest and felt the tiniest of flutters. He was holding on.

_"We took the speeder drive to my home at breakneck speed. It was far into the night when we arrived. Knowing now how much he hated flying, it was probably a good thing that he was passed out."_

"A Jedi healing trance." Skywalker says, his voice soft.

"I had no way of knowing that. Not until later." 

We arrived at my home in the dead of night. The silence was oppressive and frightening at the same time. I had avoided trails that would take me near anyone's home. I wanted no undue attention.

I reached over to make sure that he was still breathing and once satisfied that he was, I struggled to get him into the house. Without his help, it took much more work to get him inside, but once inside, I went past my room and settled him into my parent's room. Much later I would ask myself why I had chosen that room. The only thing that came to mind was that there had been no men in the house since my father had died. For some reason, that was where Ben needed to be.

I lay him down on the bed and rushed to my mother's apothecary. Everything was covered with a heavy layer of dust and grit. I hadn't been there since she had left. So much of my home was not in use since my parents had left and I was only just now realizing it. I stumbled my way through her bottles, looking for the ingredients I would need. I knew that the poultice needed to be mixed with eckshon and that it needed to be placed on his chest. Though she had never dealt with plant or herb specific allergies, my mother had once shared with me how to deal with ranges and types of allergic reactions. During her years as an herbalist, she had come to know much about healing. Before she had left, many people had begun calling upon her rather than local healers. Healers were expensive and overburdened. My mother had been concerned for neighbors and friends and had felt it necessary to impart some of her wisdom to me. At the time I hadn't cared as much as I should have. Healing wasn't a part of my mission in the galaxy. Thankfully I had been wise enough to pay attention.

I knew that the remedy needed to be a poultice on his chest. It would draw out the poison and help his breathing. I hurried through the mixing, careful to use only exactly what I needed. I was afraid I would run out of herbs and not know where to find more without traveling as far as Mos Eisley. I didn't want to leave him at my home alone and though I had a hard time admitting it, I still wasn't ready to make another trip that would take me anywhere near the Cantina.

I mixed the herbs for the poultice and took it to the bedroom. When I got there, I put the mixture on a small table and approached the pallet, heart blasting into my chest. I knew that time was short. He could rest, but he couldn't remove the herbs that were toxins in his body. As I settled myself down on the pallet next to him, I couldn't stop the violent trembling in my hands. I was terrified. What if he woke up now and was angry with me? I had baked the cake that was now poisoning him. Or what if he didn't wake up? What would I do then?

Stop it. Just stop. He's dying. Just get it done.

My hands shaking so hard it was nearly impossible to get a grip on the fabric , I peeled away his shirt. When my hands brushed his warm skin, I gasped and jerked my hand away. The shock of touching him made my heart roar within me and for a second I felt as if I were lightheaded. In that same breath, I got angry with myself and regained control of my emotions. Tightly locked away, my swirling, raging thoughts couldn't betray me and I was able to smooth the poultice across his chest. Almost instantly, the whistle in his breathing became less pronounced. It would still be some time before he was able to breathe without difficulty, but at least the poultice was working.

I smoothed his hair away from his face with a trembling hand and took a deep breath. His color was beginning to creep back to normal. I felt a sigh of relief roll through me. He would be fine. My hand lingered for just a moment longer at his brow and then I stumbled to a chair that was resting near the wall. As my legs gave out under me, I felt all of the tension from the past weeks wash over me and I suddenly had no more strength left within me. Even lifting a hand to push the hair from my face was a struggle.

I looked at the man lying on the bed before me and for no reason I could possibly explain, began to cry. Softly, not wanting to wake him up, I let the sobs overtake me until the tears soaked my face and hands. My entire body was trembling in the chair and I heard the chair begin to knock against the wall with the vibrations. I pulled my legs up under my chin and wrapped my arms tightly around them. I clenched my teeth tightly together and buried my face in my knees so the sobs wouldn't disturb him.

I don't know how long I cried. I fell asleep in my chair still holding myself tightly. The weeks of stress and chaos had shredded my stamina and I finally gave in and let myself rest.

"Anakin! No!" His voice ripped through my slumber, shaking me back to the surface. I leaped from the chair and looked around the room. As I shook the sleep from my thoughts, it took me a few minutes to realize what had awakened me. I gazed around the room, not sure why I was in my parent's bedroom and then I heard the moan from the pallet. Long and low, it rumbled from within him with an agonizing sound. He was having a nightmare.

"Ben?" My voice was soft as I approached the pallet. The last thing I wanted was to startle him out of a nightmare and end up on the other side of his fury. I walked slowly and reached out a trembling hand to touch his wrist. "Ben are you alright?" His skin was warm under my fingers and I felt my heart race at the touch.

Instead of responding to me, his entire body went rigid and he screamed "Anakin! No!"

My heart stopped and I pulled away from him as if I had been burned. Anakin? What had happened to Anakin? Had Ben watched Anakin die? I shivered and watched as his face contorted and he looked as if he would scream, but nothing came. Before conscious thought came, I was sitting down on the pallet next to him whispering his name again.

"Ben? Can you hear me?" Though he didn't awaken, his body seemed to relax a little. I placed a hand on the middle of his chest and felt it rise and fall beneath my touch. It seemed his breathing had returned to a more normal state. His screaming should have alerted me to that, but still, feeling his comfortable breaths calmed me. It would still take at least several hours for the hoi-broth to be out of his system, but for all purposes within the Force, he was back to a functioning state. I wondered how long it would be before he woke up. My hand lingered for a moment longer and then I reached up and brushed the hair from his face. His face still showed signs of distress but he wasn't screaming anymore. His breathing was normal. On impulse I bent down and whispered into his ear. I reached down and laid my hand over his. Not squeezing. Not invading. Simply resting. Though I hadn't expected a response, as I watched a peace seemed to wash over his face. A few more minutes and his features belied the fact that he was resting peacefully.

I sat next to him on the pallet for a little while longer until I could feel his peace as well. I studied his face for a few more minutes and then decided that it would be acceptable to take a short walk. I stayed close enough to hear Ben if he should cry out, but the cool evening breeze was calling to me. I stood in the doorway and inhaled the night air. It was getting cold quickly. Soon the breeze would be too cold to endure and I would have to avoid the openings. The heat from the sun-baked structure around me would keep us warm as the coldest part of night on Tatooine passed. The cool breeze on my face, I leaned against the warm structure and reveled for a moment in the contrast of warm and cool against my skin. I could hear the evaporators around the house kicking on, sucking the moisture from the cool air. Their soft mechanical hum added to the nighttime sounds that soothed my tortured spirit. It had been too long since I had spent time just listening to the sounds of my planet. I breathed a deep sigh and immersed myself in the peace that was my home. And that was when his scream rent the peace around me and vibrated me to my very core.

Heart in my throat, I rushed back to the room to find him sitting up on the pallet, blue eyes wide. He was looking around the room trying to place himself. I could see his muscles taut in a defensive posture. He was ready to strike out at any threat. And then his eyes lit on me. He stared at me for a long moment and I watched as the peace gradually moved through his being, one muscle at a time. Then, without taking his eyes from mine, he breathed deeply and leaned back against the bed. It wasn't until he was fully awake and calm that he closed his eyes and rested his head against the wall behind him.

"It seems," his words came out as a pained croak, exploding in the silent room like a laser canon. He inhaled deeply and then opened his eyes. "That my young padawan has shared with me his penchant for…dreams." He chose the last word carefully and I saw a shiver course through him as he said it. He stared at a point on the wall behind me and for the breath of a moment I saw a hunted shadow in his eyes. "If you can even call them such."

***  
As I watched, he leaned against the back of the bed and closed his eyes. A soft sigh reaffirmed that his breathing was getting back to normal.

I wasn't sure what to do. Should I leave him alone? Wait a few minutes more? What if he wanted to talk about his dream? The idea came to me and I chastised myself for not thinking of it sooner. "Let me get you something to drink." I was already on the way to the door. "I'll be right back."

I heard him chuckle and as I turned to look back I watched him run a hand through his hair. "Anything but hoi-broth please." His eyes were still closed and he had his head resting back against the wall.

"You had better watch your step Master Jedi. You may find yourself in a position that you can't charm your way out of."

At that he did laugh out loud and lifted his head to look at me. "And this isn't?" He gestured to his bare chest covered in a smear of mush and herbs. The poultice was beginning to fall away and I knew that it was going to need changed soon. He saw me watching him and raised an eyebrow. With a crook of his head, he asked a silent question and I felt my face flush a deep hot crimson.

"I'll be back in a moment with your hoi-broth." I stepped out the door and turned to look back, a surprised expression on my face. I lifted a hand to my mouth in a false gasp and said "Oh. I mean your water." His laugh followed me down the hallway and filled me with a warm tingling sensation.

When I returned a few moments later, it was with my arms full of supplies. A cup of cool water and a bowl of bathing water, a cloth, and a jar of thick paste filled my arms to overflowing. Over my shoulder was a fresh wrap to apply over the poultice.

I entered the room to find him sitting up in the bed, his hand on his naked chest holding the poultice in place. His head was still leaning back against the wall behind him and his eyes were closed. For a moment I worried that he was asleep and I would wake him but then his voice startled me so that I nearly dropped everything I was carrying.

"I'm impressed." He still hadn't lifted his head to look at me. "You make water too?"

"I'm multi-talented." I moved to the side of the bed and settled the bowl of bathing water down on the table next to it. I gave him the cup of water and proceeded to arrange the rest of my supplies on the side of the bed. "You still haven't tasted my pie."

"That's true." He laughed under his breath. He still hadn't lifted his head and I was beginning to worry about him.

"Are you alright?"

That was when he finally raised his gaze to mine, long and steady. We stared at each other for several seconds before he smiled. "I've survived far worse."

I reached up and began to pull the poultice away from his chest. "Yes." I put the old wrap on the floor and soaked the cloth in the bathing water. "I know." He put his head back against the wall and closed his eyes while I wiped away the old concoction of herbs with slow steady strokes. "This will move things along faster." I said after I had lifted a towel to dry his chest. "You'll be back to your old conniving ways in no time."

At that he raised his head and turned to me. "Conniving? Hm." He considered this for a moment, pursed his lips and nodded. "That's new. I don't recall ever being called that before." He rested his head again, eyes closed. "I think I might like that."

"Oh?" I lifted the jar of paste that I had mixed and began to spread it across his chest once more. "Well I suppose that it's good that you live alone in a cave then." Another soft chuckle erupted from him and I could feel its beginnings underneath my fingers.

"Where did you learn this?"

"Rubbing a strange man's chest? I just picked it up today actually."

He lifted his head and laughed aloud, the shadows haunting his blue eyes finally gone. "Your wit is to be admired my young friend." He sighed and his eyes turned sad. "It has been far too long since I've laughed."

"You should do it more often." I said as I added another glob of paste to his chest. "It makes you far less fearsome." My fingers trailed across his chest, smoothing a thick coating of herbs across his chest.

"Less fearsome is not always to be desired." He smiled but his blue eyes remained serious.

"And formidable is not always desirable." I looked at him, raised an eyebrow, and began to wipe my hand with the cloth.

"On that you'll find no argument from me." His voice was soft and he sighed deeply. He looked as if he was going to say something else but then he stopped. With a shake of his head he went back to his question. "You didn't tell me where you learned this."

"My mother was a self studied healer." I lifted the fresh cloth from beside the bed and put my hand on his arm to help him sit upright. He took a deep breath and looked at me, blue eyes clear and strong. I pulled the jar again. "It will work faster if I apply it to your back as well. Is that alright?" He nodded and I began to smear the paste across his back. "If we wrap the cloth around you, it will hold better than the last poultice did. Hopefully applying it front and back will make this the last one you need."

"So your mother studied the art of healing?"

I nodded. "She didn't intend to but when Caden and I were born, there were some problems. No one was available to help us. My father called a healer but the cost was so expensive…we almost lost the farm." I put the nearly empty jar on the table and wiped my hand again. I had just taken the clean cloth from my shoulder and was preparing it to wrap around his chest when he reached out and grasped both of my arms.

Startled, I looked into his deep blue eyes and for a moment I thought he was going to kiss me.

Instead his words dumped an icy cold chill over me. "Someone's coming."


	8. Chapter 8

His words slammed into my brain with a nearly audible slap and I jumped. Rather than letting me go, he squeezed just a bit harder and I looked up into his calm blue eyes. As if to prove his statement true, the sounds of movement suddenly came from the outer rooms. I swallowed hard and looked toward the door.

"It will be fine."

His soft voice settled into my mind and I became calm for the briefest of moments. "I know." I replied and, on impulse, leaned over to plant a quick kiss on his cheek.

His delighted chuckle spread warmth through my body and I rose to my feet. I tugged at my tunic with a nervous motion and heard another snort of air that might have been a laugh.

"You look fine. I'm sure the intruder will be appreciative."

I turned and shot him a look that was laced with both amusement and anger. "Just stay here until I know who it is."

"Of course I will." He lifted an eyebrow in my direction. "It would be highly improper for me to interrupt a tryst of some sort."

"What?" My voice was shocked and I struggled to keep it down.

He lifted a finger to his lips and pressed it hard against his trembling smile. I could see him fighting laughter.

"I think I've finally ruffled that cool exterior."

I shot him another quick look, this one decidedly more angry than the previous had been. "I'll be right back." And then I was off down the dark hallway.

"Chiara." The voice startled me so that I screamed aloud. I turned to find Kett standing in the darkness and I clamped a trembling hand over my mouth in an attempt to calm myself. When he reached to touch my arm, I lashed out and slapped at his hand.

"What are you doing here?" My voice was angry and I fought to control my breathing. "You frightened years off of my life!"

"I'm sorry." Kett's voice was soft as he moved toward the outer rooms and grabbed a lamp. "Have a light?"

He held the lamp out to me and I took it with trembling fingers. A shaky turn of the switch and it came to life in my hands casting a warm soft glow about the room. Once lit, I could see Kett's features in the soft glow and I felt my knees weaken.

"What is it? What's wrong?" My voice was high-pitched, nervous. He took a deep breath and pursed his lips before turning to put the lamp on a shelf. "Kett!" The urgency was overwhelming now and I felt the tension within me beginning to rise again. I watched as he inhaled deeply once again and turned back to me. His eyes focused on me and he opened his mouth to speak when something caught his attention in the hallway. I turned back around to see Ben standing in the doorway, dressed in his tunic. He looked as if he hadn't been near death just a few hours earlier. Kett and Ben eyed each other, two krayt dragons circling each other without moving. Though no words passed between them, the communication was overwhelming.

The room began to spin and I reached out for the wall to steady myself. At the motion, both men snapped to my aid, each reaching for an arm. Kett's fingers found my arm first and he pulled me to a low chair settled in the corner. I looked up and saw that his eyes still had not left Ben's.

"Kett! I need to know what's wrong." I tried to keep the panic from creeping into my voice. "Is it Marynne? Or Beru…?" At my question, I felt Ben step next to me, his tunic brushing my shoulder.

At this, Kett finally broke his gaze from Ben's and looked to me. "No no. It's not Marynne or Beru."

"Storm troopers?" The words were a strangled squawk as I imagined regiments of Storm Troopers descending upon Tatooine. I knew that if they came, it would be the end of Ben. I looked up to see him standing next to me, his arms crossed over his chest and I knew that he could read the fear in my gaze. He placed a hand on my shoulder and shook his head. Something he'd felt in the Force had settled his spirit, but his eyes were still full of concern.

"No. No storm troopers." Kett knelt down in front of me and sighed. "It's your grandmother."

Kett's words were careful, gentle, as he watched my face. "Someone came shortly after you left yesterday. They said that she had suffered a paralytic fit and was calling for you." He swallowed hard and he looked down at the floor before going on. "We didn't know where to find you so…"

My hands were resting in my lap and I found them mesmerizing. I couldn't tear my gaze away from where they lay, white and trembling. I stared at them for the longest time before I lifted my gaze back to Kett's.

"Did they say how long she had?" My thoughts were tumbling, racing, aching. All I could think about was my grandmother after my father had passed away. Even with her grandchildren, she had still felt that she had lost the light in her world. Her tired gray eyes, rimmed with red, haunted my vision.

"No. It was Bing. You know how talkative he is." I chuckled. Bing had been my grandmother's companion for the latter half of her life. Though well known for certain exploits in the trading sector before he met her, he had calmed down into a life of relative obscurity since meeting her. And he often reminded those in the family that he liked it that way. Kett raised concerned eyes to meet mine again. "Though he did say to hurry."

I nodded once and lifted my eyes back to where Ben was now leaning against the doorway. "I'll need to go." He nodded in return, a concerned frown crossing his brow. I continued, "Kett can get you back home. I really need to…" I rose from the chair, my mind already packing what I would need for the journey.

"No. I can't." Kett's voice startled everyone in the room. He stood and looked at me, his face determined.

"What?"

"I can't take him…" he turned to look Ben up and down, his words hard and clipped. "wherever he needs to go." I raised an eyebrow at the disgust in his voice. Kett turned back to me. "Mos Anchora is on the other side of Bestine. Your grandmother's homestead is far beyond that. You cannot go there alone. I don't care how confident you are."

"The suns are already coming up. If I leave within the next hour, I can probably make it before sunsdown tonight." I stood and felt a calm warm peace wash over me. I knew what I needed to do. Nothing would stop me from getting to her side. "Even if not, it won't be long after sunsdown. And I'll be leaving here well before the hour is out."

"I can be ready within the hour. I'm going with you. You will not go alone." Kett moved toward the door.

"If you go with me, who watches the farm?" My words caught him by surprise and I watched him turn, an angry glare on his face. "Are you going to leave Marynne alone for days? Maybe weeks while I go to be with her?" At that, his face fell and he sighed. He knew that I had a point. "You can't leave her alone."

"But you cannot go to Mos Anchora alone. Marynne would kill me."

"I would agree." Ben's voice, though soft, held an authority not to be breached and I smiled.

"You don't even know Marynne. You shouldn't speak about things which you do not understand." My words, though humorous, lacked amusement. I tried to press myself through the doorway in which Ben was standing. He didn't move, his blue eyes boring into mine. "I'm going. Kett's staying. What you do is up to you." My voice was harder than I had intended it to be and I instantly felt shame rise up in me as I tried again to shove past him. "Now let me through please. I would hate to cause you injury after nursing you back from our unfortunate hoi broth incident."

Ben looked at Kett and spoke, his voice light. "She's got spirit."

At that Kett fought a smirk. "No sense sometimes, but spirit, yes."

I shoved past Ben in the doorway and ignored the looks that passed between him and Kett. The two of them looked as if they had shared the galaxy's deepest darkest secret. I went to my room to put some things together. A few minutes later my bags were packed and I was ready to get supplies for the trip. I turned to find Ben leaning against the door, arms crossed over his chest.

"Would you like company?"

"What?" His words stopped me cold and I wondered if I had heard him correctly.

"I asked if you would like company on your trip."

"You?"

"Well, since you've already turned down your other offer of an escort, it seems that I am your last choice."

"I'm not choosing an escort." My voice was hard as I shoved past him. "I don't have time to take you back to the caves for your things and I'm not waiting for you to go and come back. I'm leaving as soon as I get packed."

"Well," Ben's voice was calm as he followed me into my mother's apothecary. I began to grab things from the shelves and shoved them into a bag. "my obligations on Tatooine will not miss me for a short time." He looked back at Kett and I saw a glance pass between them. "And Kett has most graciously volunteered to supply me with a few things that I might need."

"Fine. I need no details." I shoved past both of them. "Meet me at the speeder in twenty minutes and be ready to go."


	9. Chapter 9

*Author's Note: Thank you so much everyone for all of the wonderful reviews! It's been fantastic to see people's responses. For those who have asked, I am a huge Obi Wan fan and I have no intention of torturing him and leaving him lonely and heartbroken. He just needs to get out of his own way first.

Thanks again for the fabulous responses! I love them and appreciate them SOO much. This is a longer chapter but again, I didn't want to short you all by cutting it someplace really early, so I thought I'd leave it in. Hopefully you enjoy!_  
_

* * *

__

"It was hours into the trip before Ben spoke. That was one thing about him that could be maddening or a blessing. He knew when he needed to be quiet. Sometimes whether you wanted him to be or not." I chuckle softly. "We arrived at my grandmother's estate after two stops for supplies. It was well after dark." 

I rushed out of the speeder in a hurry to get to my grandmother's side. I saw Bing headed our direction, a blaster rifle in his hand. I shot him a cursory nod and greeting before rushing past him toward the homestead. "It's bad?" My voice was soft, my breath coming in gasps as I entered the homestead and rushed toward her room. I had known the second that I had seen Bing's face that I had allowed myself too much hope. My grandmother would surely die soon. When no answer came, I stopped short in the living area and turned around. Bing was nowhere to be found. "Bing? Bing!" I traced my steps back to the front door, anxious that I was being taken from my mission. I found Bing standing at the front door, blaster rifle slung casually over his shoulder. His arms were crossed over his chest and it was obvious that there would be no breeching of his homestead without permission.

"Chiara, who is this?" I couldn't help but smile at the rough gravel in his voice.

"He's a friend. His name is Ben." I slapped at Bing's shoulder and pushed him out of the way. "He came with me so I didn't have to travel alone." I saw Ben, silhouetted against the night, a teasing smile on his face.

"As I told you, friend." I could hear the amusement in his voice as he nodded Bing's direction.

"Yeah well. Since Chiara's dad died, I watch out for her." Bing practically growled, daring Ben to make a false move. "So while she sees her granny, you and I are going to have a talk."

"That sounds quite enlightening."

"Bing, you be nice to him. I'm going to see Grandma now."

"You go honey." Bing flexed his fists. Even though it had been a long time since he had been involved in the underground trading business, he still kept fit. "I've got this handled."

"Remember! I said be nice! He's a nice man Bing." As I turned to go back toward Grandmother's room, I could have sworn I heard something about finding out just how nice Ben was.

When I entered her room, I felt her calm soothing presence wash over me in a heartbeat. Though only in her early sixties, life on Tatooine had been difficult for my grandmother. She looked hundreds of years old with gnarled hands and gray hair. Today she looked much worse than even that. Her entire body seemed gray and it appeared she was made of fine soft flimsiplast that might tear at the slightest touch. I knelt next to her bed, the tears springing to my eyes. She appeared to be asleep, but I was worried that I had already missed my chance to say goodbye.

"Grandmother?" My voice was a soft whisper against her hair. "It's Chiara." I saw her chest rise a bit higher and her eyelids lifted in a painfully slow manner. "Grandmother?"

She turned to look at me, even the slightest movement a monumental task on her slender frame.

"Chiara? Is it really you?"

"Yes Grandmother. I'm here." I reached out and took her painfully thin hand in my grasp and stroked it with a soft gentle touch. "I'm sorry it's taken so long for me to get here."

She chuckled and smiled at me. "You have your own things going on my dear." I looked at her, my face puzzled. "Are you going to introduce me to the young man you brought?"

"What?" I turned to see if Ben had entered the room behind me. Finding no one there, I worried that she was hallucinating.

"The young man you have with you. I'd like to meet him."

"Grandmother…" I didn't know what to say. I hoped she didn't have the wrong impression of my relationship to Ben. "it's not like that…"

"Chiara." She squeezed my hand with a fraction of the strength I remembered from her. "Go get him."

I sighed and stood. I didn't want to spend my last moments with my grandmother arguing over a man. "Alright. I'll go."

I found him in the living area sitting on a chair. He was completely relaxed, his demeanor calm and cool as he rested against the back of the chair, one leg crossed over the other. Bing sat across from him, arms folded over his chest. His face held a decidedly unfriendly look. Despite Ben's demeanor, the room held an uncomfortable silence.

"Having a nice visit?"

"Oh quite pleasant yes." Ben smiled at me, his voice easy as he motioned toward Bing. "Your grandmother's companion is making me feel quite welcome." He turned his smile toward Bing to no response.

"My grandmother would like to see you." Bing rose swiftly to his feet and started toward the bedroom but I held a hand out. "Not you. Him." I jerked my head toward Ben and smiled as the calm exterior ruffled for a little more than just a moment.

"Excuse me?" He raised an eyebrow. "Did you say that your grandmother would like to see me?"

"Yes."

He pursed his lips in a curious expression and nodded. I watched as he stood and smoothed his robes and then turned to Bing with a smile. "Now this is quite an interesting turn of events don't you think?"

"So you are him." Grandmother's voice was stronger now as Ben sat next to her bedside, his entire body a tableau of respect. When he had first entered the room, he had paused for just a moment and it appeared as if he had stumbled on an uneven piece of floor. I looked but noticed nothing that might have tripped him. He then smiled at my grandmother and greeted her warmly before taking his place next to her bed. I stood in the doorway wanting to give them privacy but at the same time wanting to be close by.

"Yes."

"She's a good girl."

Ben looked at me and smiled for a brief moment before he turned back to her. "Yes she is."

"You'll take care of her." It wasn't a question and he nodded in response, his face serious. I already knew that he was a man of his word. What his answer meant for my future made my heart pound in my chest and for one of those heartbeats, I couldn't breathe.

"Good." Grandmother heaved a large long sigh and her body fell still for a moment. I wondered in a panic if she had passed on, but Ben lifted a hand to calm me. "We are elnasha." Her words were barely a whisper, but both Ben and I heard them clearly. The word meant nothing to me, but Ben gave a sharp gasp. She turned then, opened her eyes and smiled at him. "You've heard of us."

"Yes. I mean…I have but I thought…"

"Legend. Rumor. Romantic tales following the Jedi exploits."

He chuckled. "Yes. All of the above."

"Whether we have always been such I do not know, but I have come to claim the name regardless. Stories of fancy they may have once been. The stories are now mine." Ben nodded in understanding. Her next words blew the wind out of the room for both Ben and myself. "Our family has always been Force sensitive. Exceptionally so. Our midichlorian counts are usually quite high. But we don't train or become Jedi." She looked at me. "You are Elnasha too. Though to be fair, I'm not completely sure that I could call myself such." A pause and a swallow. "You see, I studied under Master Yoda. Many years ago I was his padawan."

Her words knocked me completely off balance and I grasped the doorway for balance. At that moment I knew that she was, in all reality, already gone. Delusions had overtaken my sweet simple grandmother. But then I looked at Ben's face and saw him nod with a serious gaze and take her hand. He couldn't actually think…

"Grandmother!" They both turned to look at me and I noticed that the gray had been flushed from her cheeks by a light pink tone and she was struggling to sit up. Ben gently reached over and helped lift her to a more comfortable position supported by cushions and blankets.

"Chiara, there is much that you do not know." She looked at Ben and smiled. "It was best not to tell her. It kept her safe." Her eyes darkened with grief for the space of a moment. "Unlike her dear sweet brother." She lifted her gaze back to mine and I noted that Ben was still holding her hand gently in his grasp. "Come sit, child. There is much to share."

_"That was when my grandmother shared her true history with me. It was the first time in my life that I actually saw the woman that was my grandmother. So many years lost. So much knowledge and information that she could have shared. Yet it was all lost upon her death." _

"I was a youngling in the Jedi temple. Master Yoda took me on after his previous apprentice, Count Dooku, had been made a knight." She sighed softly and I noted once again that she seemed to be gaining strength as the story moved on. "I loved my studies. Though I did well in most areas, I excelled when it came to negotiation and politics." At this, Ben chuckled aloud. "It is not your favorite?" She asked. He shook his head vehemently and muttered something soft under his breath. "No? Most men want to be warriors anyway, whether they admit it or not. Fight the battle. Save the girl. It feeds something within their souls." Ben didn't say a word and that made my grandmother chuckle. "And that's perfectly alright young man. It takes all kinds to make the galaxy run. Without warriors…"

"There would be no war." I finished the sentence before I even realized the words were out of my mouth.

Ben looked at me, his face surprised. "Quite the contrary actually." His voice was sad. "Without warriors there would be no peace."

My grandmother nodded and I decided then that it was best to keep my mouth shut and just listen to the rest of her story.

"Master Yoda was a hard task master but he was loving too. I enjoyed being his apprentice. I loved learning the Jedi ways. Until I turned sixteen years old." She paused and a tremor ran through her body. "That was when I met Narvon. Narvon Arness." She turned to look at me.

"Grandfather."

She nodded and looked at Ben. His response was just as short and equally profound. "Jedi Knight." Another nod from Grandmother and my world began to spin. Nothing at all was what I had believed. The people that I had grown up with were nothing that I had imagined.

"I was enamored the moment I saw him. He was tall and strong and brave. He excelled in all of the areas that I was lacking. We were a good pair. He loved being a warrior." At this her eyes twinkled at Ben. "Although Jedi never want war or battle, Narvon enjoyed the taste of battle. He would never provoke it. Don't get me wrong. But something about battle made him live a little…bigger." Ben nodded and his eyes conveyed an understanding beyond the conversation. "I loved watching him practice his lightsaber duels. All of the padawans did. He was good at what he did. It was rare for him to have a practice alone. Many would come out to watch the ease with which he handled his lightsaber." Another nod from Ben.

"I fell in love with him without knowing that he already knew who I was. Years later he shared with me that he had been trying to impress me at all of those practices. We fought our attraction as much as we could, both of us calling upon the Force to pull us apart. No matter how hard we tried, we couldn't break it. We were deeply in love. I wanted to marry him. He loved being a Jedi and knew that it would mean the end. I loved it too, but something inside Narvon needed to be a Jedi. There was no chance that he would choose to leave the Order. It made things very difficult for us." She stopped and lifted a hand from Ben's grasp to wipe a tear from her cheek. "We wasted so many years being worried about what the Jedi would think. We tried so hard to stay away from each other. I think in the end that it only pushed us together with more passion." She lifted a hand to Ben's cheek and I noticed then that there was a trace of wetness in his eyes. "It's alright now. Everything will be alright."

He nodded once and sighed. "The Force has much to teach me."

"You must be willing to learn."

Another short nod and then he pressed her hand. "Go on."

"We fought it for as long as we could and one day we finally gave in to the attraction." She lowered her eyes. "We weren't married but at that point but I wanted him so much that it didn't matter. I would have done anything to have him." A long quivering sigh left my grandmother's chest and I watched her lip tremble. "And I did."

"It took only a few weeks for me to realize that I was pregnant. Narvon's dream of being the perfect Jedi was destroyed in a moment of passion. He knew then that he had failed, but his joy in being a father was undiminished. He remained torn for the rest of his life. He married me the day that I told him we were going to have a child. We continued to keep it a secret. I did not share it with Master Yoda when I approached him although I'm sure he had some idea. I left the Order the following day and came back to Tatooine."

"You were alone?" My voice was shocked and I felt anger that my grandfather would leave her alone to raise their child.

"Yes. It was a choice I made. He had a job. No. It was more than that, a vision. A dream. I couldn't take that from him. I loved him too much to ask him to leave it for me."

"So you lived alone. Here. On Tatooine. And he let you."

She turned to me and her eyes were alive with emotion. "He cared for me. He visited every moment that he could. He sent money and gifts when he received them in payment for his service. He saw your father many times before he died. It was his path and I could not follow it with him. I needed to follow my own. And that path my dear, led me to you." She lifted a hand to stroke my face. "And he loved me and your father very much. We came to rival the Jedi in his soul. It was a difficult life for him, having two such deep passionate loves at opposite ends of each other."

"What? I always believed that Father had never known him. That he had died before Father was born!"

"Your father never knew that the man who came to try and take him to Jedi training was his father. I kept that secret from your father." She sighed as another tear swept down her cheek. "So many secrets. So many things I should have done differently." She looked at Ben. "But we can't change that now can we?" He shook his head as emotion overtook his features.

"We can only learn from our mistakes." His voice was soft and he did not meet her gaze.

"Yes." She sighed and held his hand in a tight grip. "And learn we must." She smiled when she found him watching her intently. "Since my paralytic episode, I have had much time to sit and listen to The Force. The movements these days are powerful. Tinged with darkness all around, yet concentration can give peace and clarity of vision." Ben nodded once again with that understanding that was beginning to annoy me. This was, after all, my grandmother. She didn't belong to him. He wasn't even supposed to come with me! Why was she spending all of her time with this…this stranger? I stood softly and moved to the doorway as my mind worked over all of the things I had just heard. My entire childhood had been a lie. Everything that I had based my thoughts on, my entire family unit, nothing was as it seemed. It felt as if I were standing on the side of a very slippery slope and struggling just to stand upright. My thoughts were brought back to the moment with my grandmother's next words.

"The Force has been speaking to me young Obi Wan." I bit my lip to stifle a gasp. It was the first time that his true name had been spoken between us. He looked up at me and I noticed that his eyes twinkled with a sad smile. His attention was drawn back to my grandmother as she spoke again. "I have been awaiting your arrival. You have much to learn Padawan."


	10. Chapter 10

_*Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews everyone! They're great and I really appreciate them. :) I love the encouragement. And for those who have asked about Obi and romance, I think that's a definite possibility. He just needs to get out of his own way! Anyway, sorry this took so long. I have family in visiting for the holiday so should be back to normal next week. I appreciate you all very much and hope you all have a Happy Thanksgiving! _

* * *

He lowered his head to where she grasped his hand and I saw his shoulders begin to shake. Grandmother pulled her hand from mine and placed it with the utmost gentleness on the back of his head. "Your Master has reached out to me. His spirit is strong in the Force. He loves you very much Padawan. He is very proud of you." She ran her fingers gently over the back of his hair and I watched as everything within him began to tremble with silent waves. "You have done well." At her words, his body tightened to the point where it looked like he might snap in two and then he took a deep breath. It was a longer deeper breath than I had ever imagined a human could take in. I watched as he released it slowly, his back and shoulders loosening with the expulsion of it. When he lifted his face, signs of his distress clashed with the calmness of his expression. Red eyes, wet tracks down his cheeks and yet he smiled at my grandmother with an abundance of grace and peace.

"I have failed my Master." His smile through wet eyes was chilling and heart wrenching. In that moment I saw the weight of a massive burden as if it physically pressed down on his frame. "I have failed every vision that he had for me. For the galaxy."

My grandmother smiled, her face shining with peace. "That is untrue Padawan. You have become more of a Jedi than he ever was. The Force lives within you in a way that few could ever hope to attain." She grabbed his chin and made him look into her eyes. "You have served well and good. A more faithful servant The Force could not have wished." Then her fingers stroked his cheek. "But your job is far from complete young Padawan. You have much yet to learn."

I watched as his eyes widened and it appeared that he was going to ask a question, but then he closed it again and waited for my grandmother to continue. She smiled slow and soft while she swiped a gentle hand across his cheek to wipe away his tears.

"Such a good boy." I heard a huff of air that might have been the beginnings of a chuckle and saw her smile again. "So many burdens. Too many for any one being to carry."

"And yet they belong to me."

"Not all of them young Kenobi. You carry burdens that do not belong to you. You must learn to release that which is not yours." She folded her hands gently in her lap and looked down at them for a moment. "Choices that have been made cannot later be unmade. It's why we must all choose our paths wisely. Once traveled, the path one has taken disappears. There is no going back. That, young Kenobi, is not your fault."

I stood in the doorway watching the two of them as a surreal feeling settled over me. I had spent less than the span of a few days with this man and yet he was spending intimate time at my grandmother's deathbed. I felt the anger begin to rise within me and had opened my mouth to say something when my grandmother spoke again.

"Chiara." She lifted a skeleton thin hand to me and I rushed to my knees at her bedside. "Sweet girl." She lifted a hand to push the hair out of my face and smiled. "You are my precious angel. My very own personal sunshine. Without you in my life, I would have never known such joy. Even with your father, I didn't realize such joy. And I had little chance with your brother…" She smiled through her tears and I felt my own beginning to roll down my face.

"I haven't been to see you in so long…"

"Hush now. There were other plans in your future. You had things to do. I, of all people, will never fault you for living the life that you need to live." She shook her head and wiped a tear from my face. "So many tears today. Save them. I fear that you'll need them." She sighed. "The galaxy has much harder blows to deal than an old woman joining with the Force."

Ben looked down at his trembling hands and took a deep breath. He then raised his eyes to meet my grandmother's and nodded. "I must thank you. You have given me much to think about." He bent low and kissed the back of her hand with the utmost gentleness. Just as it looked like he might stand to leave, she gripped his hand tightly.

"One more thing young Kenobi," her voice was trembling again and I could tell that she was once again losing strength. "The tasks before you are not easy. The next phase of your life will be a difficult one. Be open to what the Force has to teach you. Young Kenobi, you must throw away preconceptions. Be open and the Force will take you to new places." Her voice was firm as she watched Ben with a practiced eye.

After a moment, her attention left Ben and she reached out to me. I took her hand in mine and held it to my lips for just a moment. She smiled and pulled my trembling hand to her cheek. "You have much to learn too my dear." I nodded as the tears blurred my eyes. When I had been a small child and been missing my brother, I had often climbed into grandmother's bed to listen to fantastical stories of princesses and knights and battles. I felt it rumble through me like the burning punch of a blaster rifle. The stories weren't fantasy at all. They were the story of my life. At that moment there was nothing but my grandmother and myself. Her every breath was life to me. The wonderful fantastical world that she had created for me was not fictitious. It was real. And it was my legacy. Even better than that, I was her legacy. In that instant, there was more reason to live my life than I had ever known. She deserved more from me.

With a deep shuddering sigh, I curled up into the bed next to my grandmother. Careful to not to disturb her, I snuggled as close as I could. For just that moment I longed to be six again and curled into her warm strong arms.

"Grandmother." The word was a sigh from my lips.

"My sunshine." I barely heard the words as she uttered them and I snuggled a bit closer. "There's so much I have to tell you…"

_"Grandmother died early the next morning." I sigh softly. The pain still overtakes me on occasion. So many missed opportunities. So much knowledge lost. "I had so little time with her."_

_Young Skywalker reaches out and caresses my hand with a gentle motion. "So many missed opportunities. So much knowledge.." I know in that moment that he does understand._

_"Ben afforded my grandmother the most precious thing that I knew he had to give when she passed." I pause, the memory even now igniting emotions and memories that had long since passed. "He granted my grandmother a Jedi funeral." The memory of that frigid Tatooine night enveloping us around her burning remains stays fresh in my mind. A lifetime of years still cannot erase the icy feel of the dark night mixing with the heat of her funeral pyre._

The following morning I stood next to my speeder and looked up at Bing with tears in my eyes. Though part of me wanted to stay, that wasn't the way of Tatooine. Death was as much a part of the daily routine as waking up in the morning or checking the vaporators. Life moved on at a ruthless pace and there was little time for grief.

"The farm is yours." Bing's words barely penetrated the haze of grief and confusion. He sounded as if he were speaking from far away. I glanced at Ben who was already sitting in the speeder. His eyes lifted to where Bing was standing and he squinted against the suns as Bing turned back toward the farm and swept his arm in a wide arc. "I said that the farm is yours. Everything here."

I grabbed his huge muscular arm and struggled to understand what he was saying. "It's all…mine?" Though I had heard the words, they refused to register in my mind. "What about you? You've worked this farm for years. I'm not taking it from you. You deserve to have it. Grandmother would have…"

"Your grandmother and I talked about this long before she got sick." His voice cut me off and he looked out across the plains. For a moment I thought he was going to cry and then he lowered his brown gaze to look at me. "I don't need the farm. I've got plenty to live on until the day I die. If you don't mind, I'll just stay here and work it for you." His smile trembled for just a moment. He raised his eyes to the horizon again and puffed a whoosh of air from his lungs. "I enjoy the work. It's good honest work. Your grandmother knew that."

"Bing, I…" He held up a hand to stop me.

"No arguing. It's all in your grandmother's final creed." He stood then and held up a hand. "Wait here." A few moments later he returned with a huge chest that I couldn't even have imagined moving let alone lifting. He lowered it into the compartment behind the seats of the speeder and said, "This is all yours. Your grandmother wanted you to have it. But she said to open it when you were alone." He shot Ben a menacing glance and then looked back at me. "She said that everything you would need is in there."

Tears overflowed and I couldn't stop the sobs. "Bing I…"

He reached out with his massive arms and enveloped me in a warm secure embrace as I soaked his tunic with my tears. "You're going to be alright. She was a strong woman Chiara and you are her kin. You have everything she had and more." He squeezed me a little tighter and placed an awkward kiss on top of my hair. "You're never alone as long as I'm around. I've never had any kids, but I think of you as my own. I'll be here for you…for anything…until the day I die." He gave one more hard squeeze and then released me quickly and spun to look at Ben in the speeder. No words passed between them, but the communication was there nonetheless. Ben nodded in Bing's direction with a gravely serious gaze and then we watched as Bing turned and marched back into the house that he had shared with my grandmother. For a moment I thought I saw him swipe at his eyes, but then he was gone.

_"Ben and I didn't talk that whole trip back. We spent hours along the way in complete silence. Neither of us wanted to discuss anything that had happened." I look at young Skywalker. "It wasn't uncomfortable. It just…was. It was as if too many things had happened for words to suffice. Silence did instead."_

We went straight to Ben's home in the Jundland Wastes without pause. I stopped at the place where I had parked my speeder previously and turned off the engine. I refused to meet Ben's gaze. The situation was far too large for any words that I could possibly apply to it. Even if I were to make a fumbling attempt at discussion, I was raw and bleeding. There was nothing I could do that would allow me to speak without breaking down into sobs. I gripped the steering mechanism tightly and bit my lip, still refusing to meet his gaze. I heard him take a quick breath in and for a moment I thought he was going to say something, then he snapped his mouth shut, looked down at his boots, and nodded. A tap on the side of the speeder and then he was gone down the trail toward the cave.


End file.
